Chapter 2: Controlling Applications with Windows Vista
Uninstall an Application
1. Choose Start➪Control Panel➪Uninstall a Program
(under the Programs category).
2. In the resulting window, as shown in Figure 2-13, click a
program and then click the Uninstall/Change button.
Although some programs will display their own unin-
stall screen, in most cases, a confirmation dialog box
appears (see Figure 2-14).
3. If you’re sure that you want to remove the program,
click Yes in the confirmation dialog box. A dialog box
shows the progress of the procedure; it disappears when
the program has been uninstalled.
4. Click the Close button to close the Uninstall or Change
a Program window.
Figure 2-13: The Uninstall a Program window
With some programs that include multiple applications, such as
Microsoft Office, you might want to remove only one program, not
the whole shooting match. For example, you might decide that you
have no earthly use for Access but can’t let a day go by without
using Excel and Word — so why not free up some hard drive space
and send Access packing? If you want to modify a program in this
way, click the Change button in Step 2 of this task rather than the Figure 2-14: The removal confirmation dialog box
Uninstall button. The dialog box that appears allows you to select
the programs that you want to install or uninstall or might open the
original installation screen from your software program. If you used an earlier version of Windows, you note that the Add a
Program command is gone. Because all software created today allows
you to put a CD/DVD into your drive and then follow onscreen directions
Warning: If you click the Change or Remove button, some pro- to install the program, Microsoft must have decided that its own Add a
grams will simply be removed with no further input from you. Be Program feature was obsolete!
really sure that you don’t need a program before you remove it, or
that you have the original software on disk/c so you can reinstall it
should you need it again.
➟
22
Working with Files
and Folders ➟ Chapter
J oin me for a moment in the office of yesterday. Notice all the metal fil-
ing cabinets and manila file folders holding paper rather than the sleek
computer workstations and wireless Internet connections we use today.
Fast forward: You still organize the work you do every day in files and folders,
but today, the metal and cardboard have been dropped in favor of electronic
bits and bytes. Files are the individual documents that you save from within
Get ready to . . .
3
applications, such as Word and Excel, and you use folders and subfolders ➟ Launch a Recently Used Item ....................24
to organize several files into groups or categories, such as by project or by ➟ Locate Files and Folders
customer.
in Your Computer......................................25
In this chapter, you find out how to organize and work with files and folders,
including ➟ Locate Files and Folders
in Windows Explorer ..................................26
➟ Finding your way around files and folders: This includes tasks such
as locating and opening files and folders. ➟ Search for a File ........................................27
➟ Manipulating files and folders: These tasks cover moving, renaming, ➟ Move a File or Folder ................................28
deleting, and printing a file.
➟ Rename a File or Folder ............................29
➟ Compressing a file: This squeezes a file’s contents to make larger files
more manageable. ➟ Create a Shortcut to a File or Folder ..........29
➟ Print a File ................................................30
➟ Delete a File or Folder ..............................31
➟ Create a Compressed File or Folder ............32
➟ Add a File to Your Favorites List ................33
Chapter 3: Working with Files and Folders
Access Recently Used Items
from the Start Menu
1. Open the Start menu and right-click any blank area.
From the resulting shortcut menu, choose Properties.
2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box
that appears, click the Start Menu tab (if that tab isn’t
already displayed).
3. Make sure that the Store and Display a List of Recently
Opened Files check box is selected (see Figure 3-1) and
then click OK.
4. Choose Start➪Recent Items, and then choose a file from
the resulting submenu (see Figure 3-2) to open it.
Figure 3-1: The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties
If a file in the Recent Items list can be opened with more than one dialog box
application — for example, a graphics file that you might open
with Paint or in the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer — you can
right-click the file and use the Open With command to control which
application is used to open the file.
There’s another way to look for documents you’ve worked with
recently. Recently used programs will be listed in the main Start
menu. If you open one there will typically be a list of recently used
files at the bottom of the application’s File or similar menu.
➟
24
Figure 3-2: The Recent Items list accessed from the Start menu
Locate Files and Folders in Your Computer
Locate Files and Folders
in Your Computer
1. Choose Start➪Computer.
2. In the resulting Computer window (see Figure 3-3)
double-click an item, such as a floppy drive, a CD-ROM
drive, or your computer hard drive, to open it.
3. If the file or folder that you want is stored within
another folder (see Figure 3-4 for an example of the
resulting window), double-click the folder or a series
of folders until you locate it.
4. When you find the file you want, double-click it to
open it.
Note the buttons on the top of the window in Figure 3-4. Use the Figure 3-3: The Computer window
commands in this area to perform common file and folder tasks,
such as organizing, viewing, or opening files; or burning a file to a
CD/DVD.
Depending on how you choose to display files and folders, you might
see text listings as in Figure 3-4, icons, or even thumbnail repre-
sentations of file contents.
Figure 3-4: The window for a hard drive
➟ 25
Chapter 3: Working with Files and Folders
Locate Files and Folders
in Windows Explorer
1. Right-click the Start menu and choose Explore.
2. In the resulting Windows Explorer window, as shown in
Figure 3-5, double-click a folder in the Name field to
open the folder.
3. The folder’s contents are displayed. If necessary, open a
series of folders in this manner until you locate the file
you want.
4. When you find the file you want, double-click it to
open it.
To see different perspectives and information about files in
Windows Explorer, click the arrow on the Views button (it looks like Figure 3-5: The Windows Explorer window
series of columns) and choose one of the following menu options:
Extra Large, Large, Medium, or Small Icons for graphical displays;
Details to show details such as Date Modified and Size, and Tiles to
show the file/folder name, type, and size. If you are working with
a folder containing graphics files, the graphics automatically display
as thumbnails unless you choose Details.
There are some shortcuts to commonly used folders in the Start
menu, including Documents, Pictures, and Music. Click one of these
and Windows Explorer opens that particular window.
➟
26
Search for a File
Search for a File
1. Choose Start➪Search.
2. In the resulting Search Results window, enter a search
term in the Search field (see Figure 3-6).
3. Click the arrow for the In field and choose locations to
search.
4. Click the type of item for which you want to search
along the top of the window (for example Picture,
Music, Document, or E-mail). Click the Search Tools
button and choose Search Options to modify search
parameters. The search begins, and results are displayed
(see Figure 3-7).
5. Click any of the column headings (Name, Date Modified,
and so on) to sort your results by that item.
Figure 3-6: The Search window
6. Click Views to cycle through the options of various size
icons or text listings, or click the arrow on this field to
choose your preferred view from a list.
7. When you locate the file you want, you can double-click
it to open it.
Search Folders are a new feature in Windows Vista. To save the
results of a search, you can click the Save Search button. In the
Save As dialog box that appears, provide a filename and type, set
the location to save it to, and then click Save. The search results are
saved as a search folder on your computer in your user name folder.
Try using the new feature Instant Search, which provides a search
box right on the Start menu. Just click Start, and type a search term
in the box labeled Start Search. Click either the Search the Internet
or See All Results link that appears. The Search window appears,
➟
and you can use the procedures in this task to refine or get results
of your search.
Figure 3-7: The Search Results window
27
Chapter 3: Working with Files and Folders
Move a File or Folder
1. Right-click the Start menu button and choose Explore.
2. In the resulting Windows Explorer window (see
Figure 3-8), double-click a folder or series of folders
to locate the file that you want to move.
3. Take one of the following actions:
• Click and drag the file to another folder in the Folders
pane on the left side of the window. If you right-click
and drag, you are offered the options of moving or
copying the item when you place it via a shortcut
menu that appears.
• Right-click the file and choose Send To. Then choose
from the options shown in the submenu that appears
(as shown in Figure 3-9).
Figure 3-8: The Windows Explorer window
4. Click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the
Windows Explorer window to close it.
If you change your mind about moving an item using the right-
click-and-drag method, you can click Cancel on the shortcut menu
that appears.
If you want to create a copy of a file or folder in another location on
your computer, right-click the item and choose Copy. Use Windows
Explorer to navigate to the location where you want to place a copy,
right-click and choose Paste or press Ctrl+V.
➟
28
Figure 3-9: The Send To submenu
Create a Shortcut to a File or Folder
Rename a File or Folder
1. Locate the file that you want to rename by using Windows
Explorer. (Right-click Start and choose Explore.)
2. Right-click the file and choose Rename (see Figure 3-10).
3. The filename is now available for editing. Type a new
name, and then click anywhere outside the filename to
save the new name.
You can’t rename a file to have the same name as another file
located in the same folder. To give a file the same name as another,
cut it from its current location, paste it into another folder, and then
follow the procedure in this task. Or, open the file and save it to a
new location with the same name, which creates a copy. Be careful,
though: Two files with the same name can cause confusion when
you search for files. If at all possible, use unique filenames.
Figure 3-10: A filename available for editing
Create a Shortcut to a File or Folder
1. Locate the file or folder by using Windows Explorer.
(Right-click Start and choose Explore.)
2. In the resulting Windows Explorer window (see
Figure 3-11), right-click the file or folder that you want
to create a shortcut for and then choose Create Shortcut.
3. A shortcut named File or Folder Name Shortcut appears
at the bottom of the open folder. Click the shortcut and
drag it to the desktop.
To open the file in its originating application or a folder in Windows
Explorer, simply double-click the desktop shortcut icon.
➟
Instead of creating a shortcut and dragging it to the desktop, you
can right-click a file or folder and choose Sent To➪Desktop (Create
Shortcut) to accomplish the same thing. Figure 3-11: The Windows Explorer window displaying a shortcut menu
29
Chapter 3: Working with Files and Folders
Print a File
1. Open the file with the application in which it was
created.
2. Choose File➪Print.
3. In the resulting Print dialog box (see Figure 3-12), select
what to print; these options might vary but generally
include the following
• All prints all pages in the document.
• Current Page prints whatever page your cursor is
active in at the moment.
Figure 3-12: The Print dialog box
• Pages prints a page range or series of pages you enter
in that field. For example, enter 3-11 to print pages 3 Different applications might offer different options in the Print dialog box.
through 11; or enter 3, 7, 9-11 to print pages 3, 7, and For example, PowerPoint offers several options for what to print, includ-
9 through 11. ing slides, handouts, or the presentation outline, and Outlook allows you
• Selection prints any text or objects that you have to print e-mails in table or in memo style.
selected within the file when you choose the Print
command.
4. In the Number of Copies field, click the up or down
arrow to set the number of copies to make; if you want
multiple copies collated, select the Collate check box.
5. Click OK to proceed with printing.
Here’s another method for printing: locate the file by using Windows
Explorer (right-click Start and choose Explore). Right-click the file and
choose Print from the shortcut menu that appears. The file prints with
your default printer settings.
➟
30
Delete a File or Folder
Delete a File or Folder
1. Locate the file or folder by using Windows Explorer.
(Right-click Start and choose Explore.)
2. In the resulting Windows Explorer window, right-click the
file or folder that you want to delete (see Figure 3-13)
and then choose Delete.
3. In the resulting dialog box (see Figure 3-14), click Yes to
delete the file.
When you delete a file or folder in Windows Vista, it’s not really
gone. It’s removed to the Recycle Bin. Windows Vista periodically
purges older files from this folder, but you might still be able to
retrieve recently deleted files and folders from it. To try to restore
a deleted file or folder, double-click the Recycle Bin icon on the
desktop. Right-click the file or folder and choose Restore. Windows
Vista restores the file to wherever it was when you deleted it. Figure 3-13: The Windows Explorer window displaying a shortcut menu
Instead of right-clicking and choosing Delete from the menu that
appears in Step 2 above, you can click the Delete key on your
keyboard.
Figure 3-14: The Delete File dialog box
➟ 31
Chapter 3: Working with Files and Folders
Create a Compressed File or Folder
1. Locate the files or folders that you want to compress by
using Windows Explorer. (Right-click Start and choose
Explore.)
2. In the resulting Windows Explorer window, you can do
the following (as shown in Figure 3-15):
• Select a series of files or folders: Click a file or folder,
press and hold Shift to select a series of items listed
consecutively in the folder, and click the final item.
• Select nonconsecutive items: Press the Ctrl key and
click each item you want to include.
3. Right-click the selected items. In the resulting shortcut
menu (see Figure 3-16), choose Send To➪Compressed
(Zipped) Folder. A new compressed folder appears.
Figure 3-15: A series of selected files and folders
The folder icon is named after the last file you selected
in the series and the name of the folder is left open for
you to edit.
Following Step 3 in this task, to rename the compressed file just type
a new name and then click outside of the file name area. To rename
the file at a later time, see the task “Rename a File or Folder, “ ear-
lier in this chapter.
➟
32
Figure 3-16: The Send To submenu
Add a File to Your Favorties List
Add a File to Your Favorites List
1. Locate the files or folders that you want to make a
Favorite by using Windows Explorer. (Right-click Start
and choose Explore).
2. In the resulting Windows Explorer window, click a file
or folder and drag it to the Favorites folder in the
Folders list on the left (see Figure 3-17).
3. To see a list of your Favorites, choose Start➪Favorites.
4. In the resulting submenu (see Figure 3-18), click an
item to open it.
If the Favorites item doesn’t display on your Start menu, right-click
the Start menu and choose Properties. On the Start Menu tab with
Start Menu selected, click the Customize button. Make sure that
Favorites Menu is selected, and then click OK twice to save the setting. Figure 3-17: The Favorites menu in Windows Explorer
Figure 3-18: The Favorites submenu on the Windows Start menu
➟ 33
Chapter 3: Working with Files and Folders
➟
34
Using Built-In
Windows Applications ➟ Chapter
W indows Vista isn’t just a traffic cop for your computer’s hardware and
other software programs; it has its own set of neat tools that you can
use to get things done. What sorts of things? Well, by using various Windows
Accessories (that is, built-in software programs) you can do everything from
writing down great thoughts to working with beautiful pictures. Here’s what
the Windows built-in applications help you do:
Get ready to . . .
4
➟ Work with words. WordPad provides a virtual pad for jotting down ➟ Create a Formatted Document
ideas, making notes, creating small documents, or entering programming in WordPad................................................36
code. WordPad isn’t as robust as some mainstream word processors,
but it’s just write (pun intended) for simple documents with a few ➟ Edit a Picture in Paint ................................37
formatting bells and whistles. ➟ View a Digital Image in the
➟ Play with images. Windows makes you an artist because you can view Windows Photo Gallery ..............................38
and edit graphics files in Paint and view digital images (you know,
the photos you took at little Ricky’s birthday party?) in the Windows ➟ Enter Contacts in Windows Contacts ............40
Photo Gallery. The new Snipping Tool is a way to grab little clippings ➟ Clip with the Windows Snipping Tool ..........41
of either words or images, annotate them, and then add them to a
variety of documents. ➟ Track Your Time in Windows Calendar ........42
➟ Manage contacts and your schedule. Windows Contacts is an elec-
tronic version of that little alphabetical book you keep by your phone;
it’s a great place to store contact information. Windows Calendar pro-
vides an easy-to-use scheduling tool in which you can enter tasks and
share task information with others.
Chapter 4: Using Built-In Windows Applications
Create a Formatted Document
in WordPad
1. Choose Start➪All Programs➪Accessories➪WordPad to
open the WordPad window, as shown in Figure 4-1.
2. Enter text in the blank document. (Note: Press Enter to
create blank lines between paragraphs.)
3. Click and drag to select the text; then choose Format➪
Font.
4. In the resulting Font dialog box, as shown in Figure 4-2,
adjust the settings for Font, Font Style, or Size. You can
apply strikeout or underline effects by selecting those
check boxes. You can also modify the font color and
even apply a script from a language that uses an alpha-
bet different than English, such as Arabic. Click OK to Figure 4-1: The Windows WordPad window
apply the settings.
5. Click various other tools, such as the alignment buttons or
the Bullets button on the toolbar, to format selected text.
6. Choose Insert➪Object to insert an object.
7. In the Object dialog box that appears, select the Create
New option, click an object type, and then click OK.
Modify the inserted object however you want (moving
it, resizing it, and so on).
8. When your document is complete, choose File➪Save.
In the Save As dialog box, enter a name in the File Name
text box, select a file location from the Address Bar
drop-down list, and then click Save.
Figure 4-2: The WordPad Font dialog box
E-mailing a copy of your WordPad document is simplicity itself. Just
choose File➪Send, and an e-mail form appears from your default
e-mail program with the file already attached. Just enter a recipi-
➟
ent and a message and click Send. It’s on its way!
36
Edit a Picture in Paint
Edit a Picture in Paint
1. Choose Start➪All Programs➪Accessories➪Paint.
2. In the resulting Paint window, choose File➪Open. Locate
a picture file that you want to edit (see Figure 4-3), select
it, and click Open. There’s a pretty picture of flowers
shown in the Paint window in Figure 4-4.
You can also get an image from a camera or scanner by using the
File➪From Scanner or Camera command.
3. Now you can edit the picture in any number of ways:
• Edit colors. Choose a color from the color palette at
the top of the Paint window and use various tools
(such as Airbrush, Brush, Fill with Color, and the
Pick Color dropper) to apply color to the image or Figure 4-3: The Open dialog box
selected drawn objects, such as rectangles. Clicking
on a color selects a foreground color; right-clicking a
color selects a background color.
• Select areas. Select the Free-Form Select and Select
tools, and then click and drag on the image to select
portions of the picture. You can then crop out these
elements by choosing Edit➪Cut.
• Add text. Select the Text tool, and then click and drag
the image to create a text box in which you can enter
and format text.
• Draw objects. Select the Rectangle, Rounded
Rectangle, Polygon, or Ellipse tool, and then click
and drag the image to draw objects. Figure 4-4: A picture opened in Paint
• Modify the image. Use the commands on the Image
menu to change the colors and stretch out, flip
➟
around, or change the size of the image.
4. Choose File➪Save to save your masterpiece, File➪Print
to print it, or File➪Send to send it by e-mail. 37
Chapter 4: Using Built-In Windows Applications
View a Digital Image in the
Windows Photo Gallery
1. Choose Start➪All Programs➪Windows Photo Gallery.
2. In the resulting Windows Photo Gallery window, as
shown in Figure 4-5, you can use the tools at the
bottom (see Figure 4-6) to do any of the following:
• The Next and Previous icons move to a previous or
following image in the same folder.
• The Display Size icon in the shape of a magnifying
glass displays a slider you can click and drag to
change the size of the image thumbnails.
• The Delete button deletes the selected image.
• The Rotate Clockwise and Rotate Counterclockwise Figure 4-5: The Windows Photo Gallery
icons spin the image 90 degrees at a time.
• The center Play Slide Show button with a slide image
on it displays the images in your Picture folder in a
continuous slide show.
Figure 4-6: The tools you can use to manipulate images
3. Click any of the items on the left to choose which
images to display (such as those taken in a certain year For more on the Windows Photo Gallery, see Chapter 22.
or saved in a certain folder).
Did you upload a photo from your camera but you don’t remember
what you called it? If you want to find a photo you imported to the
Photo Gallery from a camera or scanner in the recent past, click the
Recently Imported folder in the picture list on the left.
➟
38
View a Digital Image in the Windows Photo Gallery
4. Some of the buttons at the top of the window
(see Figure 4-7) are listed here; see Chapter 22 for a
description of all the menus and features of Windows Figure 4-7: Use these buttons and drop down menus to work with your photos in a
Photo Gallery. variety of ways.
• File displays commands for working with the file,
such as Delete and Rename.
• Fix displays the selected image with image manipula-
tion tools.
• Info displays information about the image, such as
the date created and size.
• Print is the button to click to print the selected image.
• Create allows you to create a DVD, movie, or data
disc using the image.
• E-mail opens a dialog box to specify the image to be
attached to an e-mail using your default mail program.
• Open allows you to open the image in another pro-
gram, such as Paint, which you can use to edit the
image.
Figure 4-8: Close the Windows Photo Gallery
5. When you finish viewing and working with images,
click the Close button in the top right corner to close
the Photo Gallery (see Figure 4-8).
If you make a change to a photo in the gallery using the Fix fea-
ture, Windows saves a copy of the original photo in case you want
to restore it. By default the original photo is never ever deleted, but
you can change that to save space. Choose File➪Option, and in the
Windows Photo Gallery Options dialog box, select a different setting
in the Move Originals to Recycle Bin after drop-down list, such as
one month or six months.
➟ 39
Chapter 4: Using Built-In Windows Applications
Enter Contacts in Windows Contacts
1. Choose Start➪All Programs➪Windows Contacts.
2. In the resulting Windows Contacts window, as shown in
Figure 4-9, right-click and choose New➪Contact.
3. In the Properties dialog box shown in Figure 4-10, enter
information in various fields, clicking other various tabs
to add more details. For some fields, such as E-mail, you
must enter information and then click the Add button
to add it to a list.
4. After you finish entering information, click OK.
The IDs tab of the Contacts Properties dialog box allows you to asso-
ciate digital IDs with e-mail addresses. A digital ID proves your
identity to recipients of your e-mail, and you can use them to encrypt
your message as well Figure 4-9: Windows Contacts
Figure 4-10: Entering new contact information
➟
40
Clip with the Windows Snipping Tool
Clip with the Windows Snipping Tool
1. Choose Start➪All Programs➪Accessories➪Snipping Tool.
2. In the Snipping Tool window that appears (see
Figure 4-11), click the down-arrow on the New button
and choose a snip mode from the drop-down list: Figure 4-11: The Snipping Tool window
• Free Form Snip lets you draw any old kind of line
you like, such as a triangle, to define what you want
to snip.
• Rectangular Snip does what it says: When you click
and drag over a region, it forms a rectangular snip.
• Window Snip allows you to select an active window
to snip.
• Full-Screen Snip takes the entire enchilada, capturing
the whole screen in the wink of an eye.
3. If you chose Free Form or Rectangular in Step 2, click
and drag on the desktop or in a document to form an
area to snip. If you chose Windows, click on the win-
dow you want to snip. If you chose Full-Screen, the snip
happens automatically.
4. In the mark-up window that appears (see Figure 4-12),
use the Pen, Highlighter, and Eraser tools to mark up Figure 4-12: The mark-up window with a captured snip
the image.
5. Click the Save Snip button that looks like a computer
disk to display the Save As dialog box, where you can
enter a filename, specify the location to save the file to,
and then click Save.
➟ 41
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